The first thing to note about The Passenger, is the fact its part of a trio of fantastic Spanish language selection at Grimmfest this year.
We meet chauffeur Blanco, a misogynist and all-round bit of an arse, who assembles a rag-tag motley crew for a journey.
When they take a detour to avoid the motorways, they stumble upon a green pod, which unleashes a chaos and puts them all in danger.
The Passenger is a such a hybrid, being a road movie, body horror plus taking inspiration from films such as The Thing and Demons.
It is also knows how absurd its narrative is and leans into it with a razor sharp and at times, hilarious script.
The Passenger manages to easily shift between subgenres as the story continues and you really don’t know what will happen next.
Much like some of the films mentioned above, the motley crew must find a way to stop bickering and come together to survive, although in some cases this is not possible.
Once the plot hits the accelerator you won’t be given a moment to catch your breath until its rather downbeat ending.
The Passenger is probably the best road horror movie of the year.
The Passenger plays as part of Grimmfest 2022.
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